Index Astartes: The Phoenix Legion Space Marines
by Jo Ward
Summary: Work in progress Index Astartes style article on the ever repetent Phoenix Legion Chapter of Space Marines


**Chapter: **The Phoenix Legion

**Founding:** Unclear but prior to the 18th founding the chapters home world of Odev was still paying imperial tithe relating to a standard world rather than one under the sway of the Astartes

**Founding legion/chapter:** Ultramarines

**Chapter symbol and colour scheme:** Standard through out the chapter regardless of rank, although purity seals and battle honours are displayed. The chapter symbol is a phoenix with it wings up raised.

**Home world:** Odey now a barren ringed world, is situated in the area of space known as the Dominion stars between the imperial world Corinthe and the dead world of Formund. They do not however recruit from Odey any more as the population was massacred by members of the Oracle?s Of Change Chaos chapter. Their current Recruiting world is a closely guarded secret and woe be to anyone who revels it

**Doctrines/combat style:** Standard Codex, but with increased numbers of Dreadnoughts and Apothecaries, appears the chapter is unwilling to lose more of its marines or geneseed

**Background: **The Phoenix Legion's role in imperial history has been a curious one, the chapter did and still does spend a great deal of its time in tactical study and assessment so much so that it became common in the dominion stars for small numbers of Phoenix Legion marines to appear at the bases of other imperial armies and ask for a full assessment of the situation take the report and leave.

The Phoenix Legion also took on a roll as enforces of good tactics, often using these combat reports to judge military commanders. What happens to those commanders deemed to have not performed correctly is not always clear. The commanding officer is almost always ?asked? to attend a meeting, which largely turns out to be a trial, in which the Commander is questioned a length about his decision and thinking behind certain troop movements and tactical decisions. Those deemed to have simply been out manoeuvred or their defeats caused by factors out of their hands and not been incompetence are released with some ?helpful hints?. This did earn the enmity of many imperial forces and in part this attitude of Judging others was in part going to lead to the event which to the chapter has become known as ?the Lament of the Phoenix?.

The lament of the Phoenix

During the closing stages of M.40 one of the Phoenix Legion?s old judgements came back to haunt them, sometimes during the early years of the chapter they had called to account one Epistolary Librarian Vanneus. Since then however the librarian and much of his chapter had forsaken the emperor and pledged their devotion to Tzeentch. The traitor chapter brought much of its might to bare on the Phoenix Legion, reborn as the Oracles of Change and led by a new all powerful Vanneus now calling himself Amadeus Volkstein and adopting the chaotic rank of Sorceror. Being attacked on their home soil by a band of foolish traitors the Phoenix grossly over predicted their tactical advantages over their traitorous brothers. 

Much of the opening stages of the conflict went as well as could be expected for the Phoenix legion despite this they were eventually pushed back to Odey itself. And the Phoenix Legion prepared for the inevitable orbital assault. By the traitors, however before this happened however the oracle?s of change unleashed something the Phoenix Legion did not anticipate. After numerous obscene rituals and clandestine deals Volkstein unleashed sourcours fires up Odey burning scouring the planets surfaces. The Marines of the Phoenix Legion who manned their ancestral chapter fortress watched in horror as the worlds civilian population along with its PDF and many of their Brothers manning outlying defence stations were burn in the eldritch green flames. When the flames finally died down the Oracles of Change finally made their landing?

While often coming off as arrogant the Phoenix Legion?s claim to be tactical masters was not without reason. Their world now in ruins, the Phoenix Legion had little to fight for except their own survival and the glory of the Emperor. The Renegade marines, unleashed hellish daemons during the very first stages of the assault quickly penetrating the out regions of the Phoenix Legion?s base, however this was a simple ruse within hours the traitors were caught up fighting corridor to corridor in a fortress which itself seemed to be against them. Huge doors would lock sealing some of the traitor armies in useless points of the fortress, when the traitors penetrated as far as the foundry the tech priests flooded the floor and much of the surrounding corridors with molten plasteel.

Despite their valiant defence the Phoenix Legion were in dire need of help


End file.
